Nada, 24, was overjoyed when she was able to return to her house in the Laithi district in southern Benghazi. Despite the damage to her home, none of her family’s valuables inside had been stolen. “Many houses were robbed after the army controlled the area which pushed families to stay in their homes despite the risks,” she says.

Nada, 24, was overjoyed when she was able to return to her house in the Laithi district in southern Benghazi. Despite the damage to her home, none of her family’s valuables inside had been stolen. “Many houses were robbed after the army controlled the area which pushed families to stay in their homes despite the risks,” she says.

Nada’s joy however, quickly faded after she learned that her 28-year-old neighbor Haitham died from an improvised explosive device (IED) the moment he opened his front door. This story has struck fear in the hearts of returnees, having been displaced for over a year and a half.

Since Operation Dignity was launched in May 2015, several areas in Benghazi have been witnessing violent clashes. On February 23, the General Command of the Libyan Army (GCLA) announced the liberation of Laithi district from extremist groups affiliated with the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries.

Warnings by the Benghazi Municipal Council (BMC), the Military Engineering Department (MED), and the Libyan Civil Defense IED Department (LCDIEDD) regarding mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), have gone unheeded by most Laithi residents.

Five victims

Nada says that Haitham was not the only victim of mines. The people in the area, she says, hear explosion sounds that shake the region every day and claim the lives of innocent returnees.

Spokesman for the BMC Abdurraouf Khudr confirmed that five people were killed by mine explosions in Laithi district. He underlines that people’s rushing to return to their houses after liberation while ignoring all warnings put all at risk. Khudr is concerned of increased number of victims should this trend persists.

Omar, a 28-year-old soldier stationed in Laithi, says liberating the district does not mean the end of danger because the MED has not yet cleared all mines. “I wonder why citizens are returning to the region,” say Omar. “It is not safe yet.”

He maintains that the return has obstructed military work and enabled some terrorists to escape where they hid among residents and left the area with them.

No equipment

To this day, Laithi district has not been fully cleared from mines and ERW due to poor capacities and a lack of necessary equipment. Head of the National Safety Authority (NSA) IED Department Captain Mrajeh Eshebi says his department is working on its own efforts. “My men have been trained in Jordan specifically for this reason,” says Eshebi. “They however cannot do anything without IED detection equipment which officials say will not be made available for the time being because their main supplier is a UN English company which will only come to Libya when the war in Benghazi has ended.”

Eshebi urges people to help his department by not visiting their homes. He also says the NSA headquarters is in Tripoli, which is another problem, as there is no administrative communication between the two cities. Eshebi underscores that they respond to all complaints about visible IEDs, while IEDs hidden under rubble need advanced equipment. He also says that it is hard to set a specific period of time to clear Laithi district.

Khudr says in Laithi the LCDIEDD, using very primitive equipment, has dismantled 33 mortar shells, 10 Grad rockets, and a number of RPGs and C5 missiles.

Decomposing corpses

Laithi residents face another equally serious problem – decomposing corpses. BMC head’s decision no. 21 of 2015 activated Operation and Emergency Room (OER) in April 2015.

Khudr says the OER is comprised of representatives from the NSA; the BMC Public Utility Corporation (PUC); Ministries of Housing, Awqaf, Health, and Youths and Sports; the Libyan Red Crescent; the Zakat Affairs Department; the Environmental Sanitation Office (ESO); and the BMC.

ESO head Fakhri Hammouda says ESO submitted an integrated plan to the BMC to sterilize Laithi and other areas where the fighting could end at any moment; however, they don’t have enough bacteria-killing spray available. The material, says Hammouda, is toxic and should only be dealt with by professionals. He also notes that chaos and disorder has obstructed ESO work which was supposed to enter the liberated areas before residents to clean and spray them.

Khudr says the PUC Preventive Spraying Section has sprayed pesticides to eliminate rodents and insects in Laithi.

Another risk

Also dangerous are the expired goods found in shops that immediately opened when people started to return. Spokesman for BMC Health Unit Khalid Warfali says these goods might be unfit for human consumption due to expiration or poor storage. He urged traders not to sell their goods unless they have been checked by the unit.